Keith Pompey

Inquirer Staff Writer

The 76ers have received permission to interview Houston assistant Kelvin Sampson. However, if they are going to talk to him they had better do it quickly as Sampson has already drawn a lot of interests from other teams.

Charlotte and Milwaukee have already interviewed Sampson. Considering that those teams already have started interviewing candidates (as has Detroit as well), it’s safe to say that those teams are probably further along in the process than the Sixers, who finally made some offseason news on Tuesday when they introduced former Houston assistant general manager as president of basketball operations and general manager.

Hinkie didn’t say how he felt about Sampson as a coach. However, I spoke with some people in Houston who cover the Rockets and the consensus is that Hinkie thinks highly of Sampson and will probably have him in quickly for an interview.

Another name that Hinkie is probably going to look at a little longer is Utah assistant coach Jeff Hornacek. The one-time Sixer has been targeted by a number of teams and has some interviews set up already.

Hornacek is considered to be one of the more cerebral candidates out there. In the past, when he wanted to spend more time with his family, teams like Boston and Phoenix sought him out for interviews. Don’t be surprised if Hinkie – who says he is expanding the coaching search that former general manager Tony DiLeo started – becomes intrigued with a guy like Hornacek. By the way, Charlotte has also expressed interest in Hornacek.